Known primarily as a mobile application to most users Foursquare on Wednesday took a big leap in bolstering the company’s desktop space by adding its “Explore” feature for Desktop users.

Originally planned for launch as part of Foursquare 3.0 in March 2011 the tab program replaces Tips and allows users to find recommendations about food, nightlife, shopping and other areas of interest while querying Foursquares more than 1.5 billion checkins.

The desktop version of Explore is geared toward people who are planning to take a trip, but also for the average Foursquare user, who still spends a lot of time on his PC. (Foursquare’s website gets 1 million unique visitors a day, supporting Rainert’s argument.) Rainert says he personally has used the desktop Explore to find a sushi restaurant in his neighborhood. “I was looking for one I haven’t tried, but I was looking for social validation,” he says.

No doubt Foursquare has a lot of competition in this space from the likes of #1 ranked Yelp and Google (purchased Zagat in August 2011).

Using the desktop explore tabs users can now type in types of food, clothing and whatever else comes to mind and then find local offerings. Using the zoom out feature on the other hand will produce even more “close” locations for the search you have performed.

Give the Foursquare explore tabs a try and let us know what you think.

James Kosur has worked in the new media space for the last 10 years, helping many publications build their audiences to millions of monthly readers. He currently serves as the Director of Business Development at Business2Community.com and the CEO of Aven Enterprises LLC.